Greece’s government plans to extend its territorial waters to 12 nautical miles to the south and west of the island of Crete in March, local media reported on Sunday.
The extension is in the context of hydrocarbon research and the government has reportedly already informed the European Union and the US administration.
The daily recalls that both Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias have repeatedly stated that the government will proceed with the extension if and whenever it is deemed to serve the national interests.
Even if the debate on this prospect has already been opened since 2020 and has continued emphatically since January 2021 after the law on the extension of territorial waters to 12 nautical miles in the Ionian Sea following an agreement with Italy.
ExxonMobil research area south & west of Crete.